SMS Symposium to be Held in Queenstown

In March 2009, the Aviation Industry Association (AIA) held the first South Pacific Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Symposium in Auckland. The AIA’s CEO, Irene King, describes the first symposium as “a resounding success” and said that delegates representing all areas of the aviation sector attended

The 2010 symposium will be held in Queenstown on 17–18 February and King says it will build on the foundation of the 2009 event. The 2010 event and will feature key international speakers and will include workshops on implementation tools and on developing metrics for use in areas such as auditing, safety, management and investigation.

“If you think the cost of safety is high, just wait until you have had an accident”

“In the past, accidents have always been viewed from a technical perspective,” says King. “The fact is, that with the technological advances that have been made, accidents directly attributable to hardware failures now account for less than 20% of all accidents. The remaining accidents are, in some way, related to human factors; the concept of Safety Management Systems (SMS) is being introduced worldwide to address this issue.”

An SMS is a formal organisational framework to manage safety. Under an SMS, organisations will need to have systems for hazard identification and risk management, safety targets and reporting processes, procedures for audit, investigations, remedial actions, and safety education.

King says that “SMS is a change in philosophy; it recognises that the whole organisation has an impact on safety not just those at the ‘sharp end’ and it requires everyone involved to take a proactive approach in identifying risks before it is too late”.

For operators in New Zealand, she says that it means “expanding the quality management systems that have formed the backbone of our safety systems since the inception of Swedavia-McGregor. For many other countries adopting SMS will mean radical change to the way participants in the system think about safety.”

“Operators cannot bury their head in the sand. SMS is going to be introduced and it is in the interests of the whole aviation industry for us all to be engaged in this process from day one,” concludes King. “As an industry body, the AIA is already working with the CAA to ensure that what is introduced is workable for the sector. This is why it is so important for everyone to be involved from the early stages.”

Registrations are now open for the event and interested parties can obtain further information or register by going to www.aia.org.nz.